TNAG-1843-FCO40-2618-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 77

the Chinese Government did not favour the introduction of direct elections before the Basic Law was finalised may have had considerable influence on public opinion. In view of the division of views on the question of timing, and having taken into account all the arguments put forward, the British and Hong Kong Governments concluded that on balance it would be right to make the next major constitutional change in 1991. The Hong Kong Government's White Paper published in February 1988 announced that in 1991 10 seats would be open for direct election from geographical constituencies, replacing 10 seats presently elected by district-based electoral college constituencies.

36. Although some people were disappointed, the 1988 White Paper was generally accepted in Hong Kong as a significant step forward in the territory's constitutional development. The decisions in the White Paper were taken by the British and Hong Kong Governments on the basis of their judgement of what would command the widest possible support in the community as a whole and which would best suit Hong Kong's circumstances and Hong Kong's interests. The arrangements envisaged in the White Paper will ensure that a representative system of government is well established before 1997.

IX: Basic Law

37.

The Joint Declaration provides that the policies of China towards Hong Kong as stated in the Joint Declaration and elaborated in Annex I will be stipulated in a Basic Law and will remain unchanged for 50 years.

38. For the purpose of drafting the Basic Law, the Chinese Government appointed a Basic Law Drafting Committee (BLDC), comprising 59 members, 23 of them from Hong Kong and the remainder from the mainland. A Basic Law Consultative Committee (BLCC), consisting exclusively of Hong Kong members representing a broad spectrum of Hong Kong opinion, was established by the BLDC with the task of soliciting the views of Hong Kong people on the draft Basic

Law.

39.

The BLDC established five Special Groups (dealing with the